130th Chapter: Joint Training (4)

The Slave’s eyes, which were only half-open, slightly widened. Kent caught a glimpse of that hidden gaze and felt a vague sensation.

“Though there’s no definitive proof to show everyone, I can feel it from the attack you just launched.”

The Holy Sword of light that surged from the Slave’s hands. Its destructive power was secondary; it looked undeniably divine.

The person struck seemed destined for redemption of their malice, but Kent felt something entirely different.

“The sensation of you intentionally trying to harm Crona still tingles in my arm!”

“Harm, you say? It was Crona-senpai who insisted on dragging this out instead of giving up. Isn’t it only natural to respond to that effort?”

“Ha! You think it’s courteous to make someone bleed like this? Enough with the nonsense! Was there really a need to act so aggressively after the outcome had already been decided?”

In the Slave’s view, he could see Kent’s trembling face, along with Jenny, Luska, and Mary, who were all filled with wariness.

After giving them a quick scan, he twitched his lips to speak.

“So what do you want to say? Did the senpai come here to say that this match is null and void?”

“Yeah, it’s true we barged in, but… I couldn’t just watch your reckless actions unfold.”

“Hahaha! It’s so ridiculous! You’re trying to ruin a holy match over mere speculation that isn’t even certain.”

At that moment, the Slave turned his gaze to Jason, who was standing in as the judge, and asked, “What do you think, Instructor? Was my behavior too reckless, or did the senpai break the rules and interfere on their own accord?”

Whether the Slave’s actions were excessive is evident to anyone’s eyes.

Only a seasoned expert could discern if malice was imbued in that strike of light.

“You guys barged in on your own.”

As Jason spoke, the faces of Kent’s students turned to stone.

With those few words, the atmosphere tilted toward the Slave’s side.

“Did you hear that? The so-called leader of the Knights, Instructor Jason, could never be said to have made the wrong judgment.”

“Can’t be!”

“Regardless of my actions, one undeniable fact remains: the senpai interfered.”

No one could refute that claim, if nothing else. Even the spectators watching would have seen it that way.

Crona made a scene, unwilling to accept defeat, and the senpai disrupted the match. Objectively, there were no grounds to side with the senpai.

“Damn it! If I hadn’t stopped it, Crona would’ve ended up in the hospital!”

Kent muttered to himself, trembling in anger.

That monologue was indeed truthful, yet there was no means to prove it.

Unfortunately, the judge wasn’t on their side.

The intense gazes from the audience were starting to become oppressive.

“By the way, I heard the seniors at the back have ties to Saint Angela…”

“So what of it?”

The Slave spoke while eyeing the girls standing behind Kent.

He scanned the crowd briefly, quickly assessing the atmosphere.

Now was a golden opportunity.

“I’m part of the Royal Guard serving Saint Nebia. If I were to lose face here, it would be a disgrace to her.”

“What are you getting at?”

“Exactly what I’m saying! Isn’t it your intention to forcefully tarnish my reputation here to undermine Saint Nebia’s credibility?”

With the heavy emotion contained in his voice, the Slave shouted.

As his voice echoed throughout the gymnasium, the audience buzzed with murmurs.

“Nonsense.”

At that, Jenny’s eyes began to tremble.

She could hear the bad whispers directed toward them from all over.

It was an unjust situation not just for her, but for her friends and Angela as well.

“It can’t be! Why would we do something so cowardly?!”

Jenny, unable to bear the pressure surrounding her, stepped forward and shouted loudly.

They argued they were innocent, but the crowd was not on their side.

“Instructor Jason, could you please look again? We would never do anything to tarnish Saint Nebia’s name. So please…”

“Then why did you interfere with the match?”

“W-what…?”

Jason looked down coldly at them. His expression was one meant for someone who had committed a wrongdoing.

“As I mentioned earlier, you just barged in uninvited.”

“That…”

“Moreover, both saintesses are running for president in the same election. Your group, which is essentially Angela’s faction, wouldn’t want to harm Nebia’s side without having an ulterior motive, would you?”

After finishing his words, Jason traced a line on his lips.

And added with the last comment, “If I hadn’t been judging, Nebia’s side would have suffered a wrongful blow.”

Jenny’s hands trembled as she couldn’t comprehend his incomprehensible words. It wasn’t just her.

They stepped forward, radiating a sinister aura.

“Why do you not trust us?”

“….”

“Are you still our instructor after saying such things?”

An icy chill swirled around Jenny’s body.

Sensing that threat, another member of the Royal Guard entered the arena.

Standing in front to block her was Lenka Usran, the student who had just defeated Jenny.

As he rushed in, the chilling aura began to dissipate.

On the left was Nebia’s royal guards.

On the right stood the girls united by friendship, ready for a confrontation.

The audience glanced nervously, anticipating the brewing storm.

Boom!—

At that moment, a flash of lightning and a thunderous sound broke the silence.

Everyone was startled by the lightning that struck right between the two confronting sides.

The audience gasped, and even Jason, who stood before them, was taken aback, on high alert.

“Everyone, calm down.”

Descending with the lightning was a stunning woman with swords in both hands raised.

It seemed that both sides, which were about to clash, were halted by her swords.

“You all settle down too.”

“Instructor….”

The woman mediating between them was Adela Merhenna.

She had peculiar horns on her head, but no one bothered to comment on that.

Instead, it was her unusually serious demeanor that caught their attention.

“Especially you, Jenny. What are you going to do if your powers go on another rampage? You were just about to exceed your control threshold.”

“I’m so sorry.”

The reprimanding tone of the calm but dignified demon girl resonated.

Jenny hurriedly unbound her Silver Age and apologized obediently.

Then Adela’s horns disappeared as she turned her head towards Jason.

“I apologize for having to intervene so forcefully to prevent a great disturbance.”

“That’s alright. I would’ve done the same if I were you.”

“Most importantly, I sincerely apologize as an educator for my students’ rudeness.”

Adela prepared to gracefully accept any punishment.

Jason gazed at her face, momentarily dazed, and then spoke.

“Heh! With such a commotion having occurred, of course, I must report to the Principal.”

“….”

“However, I can ensure that all responsibility is placed solely on you, and the students can avoid punishment. After all, who would refuse my words as a command from the Emperor?”

Jason’s visit to Aligieri was also under the Emperor’s order.

Resisting him could easily be interpreted as defying the royal family.

Even Professor Radian wouldn’t be able to stand against such authority either.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Adela intended to lead her students out of the gymnasium.

Regardless of how the others behaved, calming the fiery situation took priority.

“Oh, I have one question.”

“What is it?”

At that moment, Jason stopped Adela from leaving.

“Did we perhaps meet before?”

“….”

He gazed intently at Adela’s face and asked.

Adela also appeared to be lost in thought while looking at Jason’s face.

After a few tense seconds, she finally answered.

“I’m not sure.”

“Is that so?”

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

Watching her gracefully walk away, Jason thought, ‘She really has forgotten me.’

And a smirk spread internally.

‘If she had remembered, it would have been more fun. Hehehe!’

*

After all lessons and training were over.

Most shifted their focus to club activities or leisure time.

Perhaps it was the season of cherry blossoms; more students than usual spent time in relaxation.

Coincidentally, the frequency of male-female encounters increased for that reason.

“This pink petal looks absolutely disgusting just by looking at it.”

Five students walked through the Professors’ Building.

Among them, Hulk Mangelo intentionally stomped on the fallen cherry blossoms on the ground.

“These dirty things will bloom soon. Damn it!”

“By then, Aligieri will have transformed from a land of learning into a land of romance, huh?”

“Tsk!”

Lavender, a girl with a vacant stare, chimed in, causing Hulk to click his tongue.

“I’m indifferent about it…”

Lenka’s lackluster voice dampened the mood.

“Romance is also a sacred ritual. So it wouldn’t be a bad idea to burn it all down soon.”

A chilling remark surprised everyone coming from the otherwise studious Slave.

They were the Royal Guards directly under Nebia.

Victors basking in the sweetness of their training, except for one.

“Wasn’t his name Markray?”

“Ah…”

“No need to feel pitiful. It’s not like we’ve been modified long ago either.”

“I’m embarrassed.”

Among them, only Markray Layert had lost.

It didn’t make sense to gain enhanced powers and still lose to just one student. So he assumed he couldn’t wield his strength properly, leading to that outcome.

“We’ll make sure to teach you properly later. After all, you too have a target for revenge.”

“Yeah, that guy!”

Radon Crawler vowed that next time he’d definitely tear him apart.

And that white-haired student he encountered during the match. The same goes for him.

“I’ll take both of them down someday…”

Lost in his thoughts, they soon entered the faculty research facility.

On the top floor of that building was Jason’s private research room.

“Today we did a fine job. With this, the reputation of those senpai and Saint Angela should’ve significantly dropped.”

“I wonder what kind of reward he’ll give us?”

The Royal Guard ascended the stairs, filled with anticipation.

Finally, the moment they opened the door to his research room.

“Ah?”

Instructor Jason was nowhere to be found.

Was he still out, or had he gone somewhere inside the room?

And it wasn’t just Jason’s absence that raised questions.

“Who are you?”

Inside the research room sat a student they had never seen before.

With brown hair, that student drank tea while seated.

“Do you even know where this is to come in here recklessly?”

The Slave stepped forward confidently.

Even reading the name tag labeled ‘Radon Crawler,’ he couldn’t recognize him.

“So who are you to casually speak to a senpai?!”

“What?!”

Radon Crawler coughed and shot back, inciting Hulk and the Slave to flare up in anger.

Contrary to appearances, the short-tempered Slave felt blood rush to his face at the impudent attitude.

“You, why are you here!”

That moment, Markray, recognizing Radon, acted familiar.

When Hulk asked who he was, he explained the situation.

“This guy is the enemy! That, what was it… Oh right! He’s the one who hangs around Jenny Chain Silver!”

“What?!”

In a situation where they plotted to make Nebia the president alongside Jenny Chain Silver.

However, having her acquaintance here meant that the enemy had infiltrated their stronghold.

“Who’d have thought it would be that trashy senpai’s friend?”

“Hahaha! You’re not telling me you’re here for revenge on your friend, are you?”

Hulk and Lavender scoffed at Radon, realizing who he was.

Being a friend of those losers, they couldn’t help but underestimate him.

“Hahahaha! What to do, I’m so sorry? Your friend with the blue hair has probably lost face and won’t be able to show up in class anymore.”

The Slave dropped his usual kind smile.

What lurked beneath that mask was pure malice.

But Radon found that expression amusing rather than intimidating.

“Who’d worry about being a child of a terrorist group’s executive?”

“What…?”

The Slave’s unpleasant grin evaporated in an instant.

Then the next words made his pupils dilate.

“So it’s understandable that your parents are the executives of Helheim, which caused such a brat to be born.”

“This punk, how do you know that…!”

The organization Helheim that stirred chaos on the continent during the demon war.

The Slave’s parents were executives of that organization.

Only Jason and other high-ranking individuals could’ve known that.

“What’s your identity?!”

The once proud Slave snapped at Radon, grabbing him by the collar.

Radon grinned in return while meeting his bloodshot gaze.

“Your expression has changed quite a bit since earlier, huh? Hehe.”

“You bastard..!!”

“But you should let go of me. If you treat me recklessly…”

Smack!—

Before his words could finish, Radon took a punch to the face and collapsed.

The Slave lifted Radon back up, but at that moment, the inner door of the research room opened, and Jason appeared.

“You… you guys…”

“Instructor! Right now, this suspicious guy is in the research room…”

“What are you doing? Hurry up and let him go!”

The Royal Guards collectively gasped, as they were all taken aback at the word “friend.”

Instinctively, a bad premonition crept in, and it turned out to be true.

“That friend is none other than the successor of Elder Enviel!!”

“….”

The Royal Guards were left speechless. They all knew who Enviel was.

Among them, the one who had just thrown a punch, the Slave, trembled with both hands.

For him, Elder Enviel was the one who had saved his life.

“But there’s no proof….”

“Proof?”

The proof appeared right before their eyes.

The visible mana from Radon’s hand twisted into a distinctive sign.

It was undoubtedly a symbol representing Elder Enviel.

“Uh, uh??”

Not just the Slave, but everyone in the Royal Guard turned pale.

Just moments ago, what heinous acts had they committed against the successor?

“Why are you all acting like this? This guy is the enemy!”

Only Markray, who couldn’t grasp the context, was clueless.

Leaving him aside, Radon chuckled at the horrified Slave.

“You’re quite something. To repay the Elder’s grace, who saved your life from being captured and killed by the noble knights, with a punch.”

“No, that… that’s…”

“Lift your head.”

“Huh?”

“I said lift your head straight, you little brat.”

A stick suddenly popped out from inside Radon’s school uniform.

Whether it was a fishing rod or a cane, it was hard to tell as the long object struck the Slave’s face.

“Shut your mouth, or you might lose your teeth!”

Craack!—

The stick landed squarely on his exposed face, sending him soaring far beyond just a punishment.

He crashed into the wall.

One of his molars fell to the floor, accompanied by a splash of blood.

“Huff…!”

Even Jason was frozen in disbelief. The next target was Markray.

“You too, you little brat.”

“Why me…!”

“Did you forget the promise? If you lose, you get hit, remember?”

“Don’t joke! When did I ever—ck!”

A resounding slap echoed, and the sound traveled outside through the window.

Then a molar flew out, shattering the window.

On the floor of the Professors’ Building, now littered with cherry blossoms, lay a tooth.

Whether it was a flower petal or a tooth was hard to distinguish.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer.

 

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